General Question

Where should I emigrate to?

In the next 10 years I’m looking to leave the UK as it is ‘going to the dogs’. I really wouldn’t want to raise my kids here as I think it is small minded and spineless.
I grew up in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and went to an American international school – which I loved every second of. I want to move somewhere where the weather is nice, it’s not in the middle of nowhere (i.e. close to a big city), low crime rate, people of many nationalities (i.e. – international schools) and it’s no more than 7 hours flight from the UK. HELP!
(We were thinking of North/South Carolina but I have since realised that it may be missing the ‘international’ feel that I had in the UAE which is a key point to where I would want to move to.)

You might want to look into The Research Triangle area of the Carolinas. While probably not as internationally populated as you’d like, they do have plenty of international students there attending the universities. Otherwise, it seems to fit your preferences.

Edit: Now that I think about it, a good friend from college who grew up there had three close friends from India, Indonesia and Sweeden.

Singapore. It is warm since it is fairly close to the equator. It is very international. It is very safe due to very draconian penalties for just about every crime. It is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. According to wikipedia, it has the eleventh best quality of life in the world.

Go to Italy! They’re a bit Socialist and the government wants to be somewhat overbearing, but they’re notoriously bad at both, and nobody really pays them much attention.
Besides that, they like foreigners, they have a rich history, excellent schools, beautiful country and architecture, and great people.Seriously, there are a ton of foreigners there. We dug up an entire sub-community of British and American ex-pats while we were there.

As @Pied_Pfeffer mentioned, the RTP area of North Carolina (between Raleigh and Durham) does have a number of people from other countries. I don’t know if it would have that “international feel” you say you’re looking for – there are few businesses (restaurants, theaters, clubs) that cater to international cultures. That said, you can find some if you dig around and the number’s growing; overall there’s a lot more to do here for entertainment than there was when I arrived 10 years ago, while the people generally have retained their small-town friendliness. I lived in NYC before I moved here and am very happy with the change.

Vancouver, British Columbia is a nice place to live. Expensive but nice. Multicultural, average weather, politically motivated people.

There are small minded and bigoted people everywhere though. That is a big step leaving an entire country in hopes of finding one that isn’t. I just try to be a voice or reason in the sometimes sea of insanity.

Lol – some very helpful and some borderline rude suggestions there. I’d like to point out that I am British and do love some aspects of my country. I just don’t think it’s a good place to raise children. Also, I love the Middle East but you can’t gamble and it’s my fiance’s favourite hobby so it’s a no go.
Europe is too cold so need to go further afield. @wundayatta – my dad has suggested Singapore. I’m just worried it’s a bit far. Want to be able to go back and visit family in the UK regularly…@GeorgeGee – England only have a one way door and that is to let anyone and everyone in whether they like the country or not.

@marymaryquitecontrary My experience (four years’ residence) was entirely positive. They don’t much like the Africans or the Albanians or the Gypsies, sure, but they don’t seem to mind other Europeans.

Not gonna help if your looking to escape cold weather, but I would quite seriously consider moving to Anchorage, Ak. Its actually not the middle of no where, and pretty diverse (i don’t remember what the statistics are exactly) but once you get past the alaska sterotype (and the dark) it not half bad. Keep in mind that there are parts of anchorage that are not at all diverse Eagle River/Chugiak for example. Worth looking in to? Good luck!

Canada is cutting edge liberal and contains some of the most “worldly” cities. Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are some of the most ethnically diverse areas of anywhere on the globe. They are all situated in relatively unspoiled areas although having cold seasons of the year. Vancouver is profoundly unspoiled and unique in beauty. Massive douglas-fir and red-cedar forests situated along hundreads of miles of granite outcropped seacoast.

He had a party. There was a huge map on the floor. And a fishbowl. He declared that he would draw from the fishbowl and, whatever location was on it, he would move there for at least a year. All guests contributed a location. In the end, he moved to a western African nation for a year. Where he contracted malaria.

Amazing idea – but if you do it, you may want to put a little more specifics into the guest picks. Malaria is, seriously, no joke.

If I’m not too late to the party, I would suggest Southern New England. To be specific, New Hampshire, Near the coast you get the small town feel in a small size city. Plus, it’s only 2 or 3 hours to Boston from the seacoast (on a bad day). Not as diverse as you might want, but people are pretty open and hospitable.